Okay, so I got thinking about Brandon Roy the other day. Remember him? Smooth scorer, clutch player for the Blazers back then. It feels like he was dominating one minute and then just… gone. So, I decided to actually dig into what exactly happened with his injuries.
My First Steps: Remembering the Basics
First off, I just tried to recall what I already knew. My memory was kinda fuzzy, but I definitely remembered it was his knees. Big knee problems. Seemed like he was always listed on the injury report towards the end there. But I didn’t know the specifics, like what exactly was wrong.
Digging Deeper: The Search Process
So, I sat down and started searching. Nothing fancy, just typed stuff like “Brandon Roy knee injury story” and “what happened to Brandon Roy’s knees”. Spent a bit of time clicking through articles and some old forum discussions.
It became clear pretty quickly. It wasn’t just one bad injury, like an ACL tear you rehab and come back from. The guy basically had no cartilage left in his knees. Both of them! They called it degenerative arthritis, I think. Basically, bone grinding on bone. Ouch. Just thinking about playing professional basketball like that… crazy.
Key Findings That Stood Out:
- Lack of Cartilage: This was the main thing. Apparently, he lacked significant cartilage from the get-go, and the pounding of the NBA just wore away whatever was left.
- Multiple Surgeries: He went under the knife several times. Each time, they were probably trying to clean things out, maybe hoping for some relief, but the underlying problem wasn’t really fixable.
- It Started Early: This wasn’t something that just popped up. Reports suggested the issues were known even around his draft time, but maybe not the severity or how quickly it would progress.
The Comeback Attempt
I also looked into his comeback attempt with the Minnesota Timberwolves. I remember being kinda hopeful when that happened. Maybe the time off helped? But nope. Played a few games, and the same knee issues flared right back up. It just wasn’t sustainable. That pretty much sealed it.
Wrapping Up My Thoughts
So, after spending some time reading up, that’s the story I pieced together. It wasn’t a single dramatic event, but a slow, grinding deterioration of his knees because he fundamentally lacked the cartilage needed to withstand the NBA grind. It’s a real shame. The guy was incredibly talented, had that killer instinct. Could have been an all-time great if his body held up. Just goes to show how brutal professional sports can be on your body. Makes you appreciate the guys who manage to have long careers, you know?
